Bring Back Brad Thomas.....

[HixsontoLeVias]

...he was sort of a "wack job", but maybe that's the type of energetic / creative mind we need around the athletic depart. these days?? Long Live Arthur Whittington.

[PlanoStang]

You got it. We need a young energetic Brad Thomas / Russ Potts type
AD who has taken at least 1 course in marketing like I did when I was
an engineering student. Copeland is way too complacent ( and on vacation
for 4 weeks) to think of, and manage all of the little details to run a truly
sharp athletic department.

Me, and a bunch of Arkansas fans found that out in Shreveport waiting in
line for tickets until halftime for just 1 example.

[Stallion]

don't let the facts get in your way. That Shreveport game was "sold" by SMU to hmmm--Russ Potts---- to market and produce that game. Otherwise, I agree that a Russ Potts/Brad Thomas type would be great. Some forget that Potts/Thomas came before winning and they were filling the Cotton Bowl a) before SMU had a winning record and b) before SMU began to really have substantial recruiting success. JTStang I don't need to be reminded about the payroll but The Pony Express would never have happened without MustangMania happening first. Having been around MustangMania promotions at the time I can also tell you that I doubt either took month long vacations in the months preceding the season. Those two guys worked their asses off and covered every marketing base and in fact invented some. Geez these guys found time to produce that catcy theme song "Mustang Maniac--(It's in the air its everwhere--if you got the luck and you got the knack-- you can be a Mustang Maniac"), produced the sold out Jerry Lewis Bowl, put Mustang Mania stickers in the consciousness of about 4 million Metroplex residents and beyond
and still had enough time to flirt with Morgan Fairchild and Cheryl Tiegs and convince them to be SMU's Honorary Homecoming Queen. But it should be pointed out that they had some real financial support from the university to produce that marketing program.

[DiamondM75]

My favorate marketing program during that era was the send a picture of a Mustang Maniac bumper sticker in a very unusualy place. I remember seeing pictures of bumper stickers on the Eifel Tower, Stone Henge, DisneyLand, etc.

Those stickers were everywhere and it was a cheap marketing program. The fans did the work for free.

They were thinking outside the box. Now there is an idea.

[NavyCrimson]

yeah - i remember a news special showing just that -

a sticker was also placed on the hollywood sign in LA

[2112]

Stallion is exactly right! We have an athletic director that is looking to (hang out) and draw a check for a couple of years, and then retire!!! He's always on holiday! What's he tired from? We need a fired up, tireless worker to shake things up, make things happen, and get SMU some attention!

[Dooby]

Will you please stop calling Copeland "Copeland?" You can criticize the man all you want; I won't dispute that he deserves it. But "Copeland" is the kind of insult used by a seven year old. It does not add credibility to you argument.

[jtstang]

We all will never forget the payroll, Stallion, but you are right on about the Mustang Mania promotions. I can remember going to SMU games in high school because they were giving out free tickets to all the area high schools. A great idea to generate interest, and to get people in the door. We could use a little of that kind of thinking right now. Alas, the financial support given by the university for those promotions will never come again as long as the faculty has any say in the matter.

[Caballo]

The two best places where a Mustang Mania sticker were placed:

Great Wall of China,

and

an overhead clearance sign on I 35 that I had to place while hanging upside down with a buddy holding my feet the night before the UT game in 1980. The sticker stayed there for approximately 2 years. The only way it came down was that TxDot eventually replaced the sign due to age.

Does anyone know if the old Mustang Mania slogan was trademarked?

[PlanoStang]

Will you please stop calling Copeland "Copeland?" You can criticize the man all you want; I won't dispute that he deserves it. But "Copeland" is the kind of insult used by a seven year old. It does not add credibility to you argument.

Sorry, it's meant more as a slightly sarcastic nickname than an actual insult. I didn't come up with Copeland for Copeland anyway. Wish I had, but I didn't. It just fits him with some of his bonehead lack of attention to the details of running athletic events. Maybe Mr. Copeland would be better.

Stallion, looks like Mr. Copeland didn't pay too much attention to the SMU side of the details of the contract to sell the game to Potts. He should have been well aware that Mr. Potts might want to go cheap on the event staff, and have something happen that made SMU look bad. It did.

[Stallion]

I hear ya! I stood in that line with a hot cranky 3 year old for about an hour and missed at least 10 minutes of the game. I bet attendance would have been about 3,000 higher if it had been staffed correctly. From outside the stadium it looked like it was going to be packed. I know for a fact many just gave up. The line, the weather and the wait were miserable.

[Boston Pony]

As one that worked in the promotions department, I don't remember much money from the administration. What I do remember was sponsors for everything...t-shirts, stickers, posters, 'free tickets', etc. For all of the free ticket statements, the school actually sold them to corporate sponsors (Texas Instruments, Frito Lay, Dr. Pepper, Tom Thumb, Southland, etc.) we then gave them to Methodist groups, HS bands, etc. The tickets were sold for around $2 a piece, not much but not a giveaway. Russ Potts said, an empty seat doesn't buy a hot dog & Dr. Pepper. It was great, however the expense for most promotions were the salary for Brad Thomas and his assistant (former Maryland football player, whose name currently escapes me & my small salary). On the stickers, I was the one running all around the place giving them out, together with posters & pocket schedules - which also were sponsored by corporations. Brad's genius was his ability to get people to pay for his department. One other thing you forgot to mention was Bob Hope doing ads for the team... I listened to the outtakes and they were some of the funniest things I have ever heard...classic stuff

[OldPony]

JC (Mr. Copeland) has accomplished so little in his 11 years that it is incredible. Is our football team better than when he came? Basketball? Track (oops I forgot we don't have a track team)? Has our attendqnce improived in any sport? All he can point to is Ford Stradium and I think he just got in the way of a parade in that instance. Is Turner totally blind? Does Dopey- uh Mr. Copeland have pictures on someone?
WHY ISN'T HE GONE?

[jtstang]

As one that worked in the promotions department, I don't remember much money from the administration. What I do remember was sponsors for everything...t-shirts, stickers, posters, 'free tickets', etc.

I recently found a stash of old MustangMania stickers from that era. Some of them had the KAFM logo inside the white horse, but a few had red lettering "SMU"--

[huntnfish]

Old Pony,

I think that is one we are all trying to figure out. What a job Copeland has, run a program further into the ground, get paid very well and take long extended vactions. WOW! We need to start a grass roots campaign with Fire Jim Copeland T-shirts!